The Siblingly Woes of Zarc and Ray
by Chiri-tan
Summary: In which Zarc and Ray are the eldest children of their respective families who wondered if they could ever get married without their siblings' shenanigans. Zarc/Ray; brotherly Dimensionshipping; sisterly Braceletshipping
1. Prologue - Akaba Ray

Marrying Zarc has always been one of the certainties Ray had never doubted in her life.

Even through the biggest fight and the dullest moments of their relationship (it wasn't always a relationship, though, she and Zarc had started with awkward smiles and shy hellos exchanged in their first Junior Youth Maiami Championship, after all) Ray knew that she will end up with Zarc. They've been with each other for so long that it was difficult to imagine a life without one another. No matter how much Father try to convince her that Zarc didn't deserve her, Ray never budge because she was so sure that only Zarc would ever deserve her.

(And besides, if it were up to Father, _no one_ will ever deserve her)

So as Zarc held up a black velvet box with a silver ring held inside (no diamonds or jewels, they're Pro Duelists and soon to be researchers, it just seemed so wasteful) Ray kicked him behind the knees just so he would kneel in front of her.

"Okay, say the words."

"Akaba Ray, I can't imagine my life without you. I want to wake up to your drooling face and have your horrible coffees in the morning. Will you marry me?" There was a glint of mischief in reflected in Zarc's golden eyes and Ray could feel her heart swelling. This was it. This would be her whole life.

"My coffees are not horrible you jerk." Ray took the ring and examined it. Zarc laughed as he got on his feet and put the ring on Ray's finger. "Yuuto would disagree. I think he almost died when he tasted your homemade blend. So, it's a yes, right?"

Ray rolled her eyes before she tackled Zarc onto the ground, earning the other's grunt. His solid vision dragons growled, but Zarc waved his hand in dismissal. "Easy guys, this will be a common occurrence. My wife is feisty as hell." Ray laughed as she scooted over until she was facing her best friend. "I love you, you crazy asshole." Ray kissed him, and Zarc flipped them over until Ray was the one on the ground. "And I, you, my dearest _dearest_ Ray."

And they both laughed. It felt so oddly right to have each other in their arms, after all.

* * *

Reira was the first notice.

"Ray, what is that in your finger?" Obviously it brought attention to the silvery band encircling Ray's left ring finger and Ray had tried her best to maintain a smile she always have for Reira as she showed him the simple accessory. "It's a ring, you see? Zarc just proposed to me today!"

The entire table shifted with reactions. Reira went over to her, hugging and congratulating her with a beaming smile that could rival the sun's own. She was always the closest to Reira out of her many siblings, though she loved them all the same. Serena turned a handful of cash to Rin, who smiled and thanked her twin with a sly smile. She turned to Ray and gave her a grateful thumb up. But those were the lighter reactions.

Mother gave her an appraising cold look before she took out her tablet to find information about Zarc and how he would affect the future of Akaba family. Reiji was silent in his seat, expression unreadable as he chided Reira on proper table manner. Reiji never looked at Ray directly, tormented by the silly notion that his existence was what caused Hiiragi Shunko, Ray's mother, to divorce their Father. Ray never blamed him, because it was Father's fault and not Reiji's, but still Reiji refused to meet her eyes no matter what Ray did.

But Ray was more interested on Father's reaction above all else.

Father knew Zarc (really, it's hard to find anyone who lives in Maiami and _not_ know Zarc. His freaking face is plastered all over the town, after all) for quite some time and Ray knew that Father didn't think too much of him. Haoryuu (as Father would address him, totally refusing to use Zarc's preferred name because it sounded so _silly_ ) was the eldest son of his friend and co-worker Sakaki Yuushou. He was a Pro Duelist, the current King of Duels, even, who was always seen chilling in the real solid vision rooms with his materialized dragons. Father thought him as a violent man whose tendency to be ruthless in duels to be alarming.

It wasn't that Ray didn't understand Father's fears, though, because Ray too was a Pro Duelist. She had gone up against Zarc several times since their Junior Youth days and she knew that Zarc was only ruthless when he was cornered and had no other choice. Ray didn't like it, but she once had a talk with her best friend and Zarc had been trying to reign in his violent tendencies for a more entertaining duel.

As long as Ray was around, Zarc would never cross the line and Ray knew that was precisely why Zarc had asked her to marry him.

"Ray…" her Father began, voice solemn but not calm. "Are you sure about this? I mean, Haoryuu is—"

"Father," Ray cut him with a smile, as she often did now that she was an adult. "I know that you don't have the best impression of him. But I really cannot see myself marrying anyone else but Zarc. I am almost 25, don't you think it's high time for me to get married?" Ray flicked a glance towards Mother, who then decided to chime her own two cents. "She's right, darling, maybe we can invite Haoryuu-kun for some family dinners and gala. I was told that he recently applied himself to Solid Vision Research program. I think he and Ray would be a great match."

Quite suddenly, Rin's phone rang with a cheery song and Mother had scolded her for bringing her phone to the dinner table. But Rin handed the phone to Reira, who then handed it to Ray, meekly as she bowed her head and apologize to Mother. Ray took the phone and pressed the answer button.

"Hel—"

 _"WHAT'S THIS I HEARD ABOUT YOU AND ZARC?! AKABA RAY YOU COME HERE THIS INSTANT OR I SWEAR I—congrats sis! Heard from Yuuya, he said—Yuuto said Zarc-nii was so happy he uploaded a video on DuelTube—HOW DID HE ASK YOU? DID HE TAKE YOU TO DINNER FIRST?!—even came to pick Yuuya up from theater rehearsal all red and—congrats Ray-nee!"_

The entire Akaba family fell silent while the Hiiragis ramble to the phone. Serena and Rin shared a look before laughing out loud. Ray couldn't help herself, she followed them suit.

But Reiji's expression just tightened, he stared long and hard at his own plate before eventually excusing himself. Reira immediately followed after him. Mother had a utterly jealous look as Father's expression softened at his former wife's antics. Ray sighed.

She loved her family, she never doubted that, but it never made her blind to the fact that her family was very _very_ (messed up) complicated.


	2. Prologue - Sakaki Zarc

Zarc knew that to some extent, he will always be a stranger in his own family.

It wasn't like his parents didn't love him, no, _hell no_ , but it was because of how everyone else was born.

Zarc was born early in the marriage between Sakaki Yuushou and Sakaki Youko, apparent from the embarrassing name he was given. (Because _who the hell name their son Haoryuu?_ He wasn't some anime character, dammit.) Apparently Mom's friend, a member of a motorcycle gang Zarc couldn't quite remember, had named her bike Supreme Dragon and Mom, for the lack of bike, decided to name her child Supreme Dragon _King_.

Dad didn't stop her, most probably out of the guilty feeling that came because Mom had to sell her bike for them to start up their family. Besides, Dad thought that Haoryuu was a cool name. It was always a fun experience whenever Dad brought him to his dueltainer troupe and introduced him as Supreme Dragon King.

It wasn't until when Zarc was 7 and entering a Duel School that he opted for another name he found from his favorite pasttime. Z-Arc was an antihero from the super popular _King of Games_ manga, so he modified the name a bit and made it his DuelTube account. He also signed that name practically everywhere and soon enough, he was known in the dueling community as Zarc instead of Sakaki Haoryuu.

When Zarc was 10, his father became the pioneer for Action Duels, the newest and most advanced technology of dueling that was the Akaba Corp.'s masterpiece. Life for them eventually become better and better financial-wise, so Mom and Dad decided to have another go on children. And somehow or another, they were blessed with identical quadruplet children.

Yuuri, Yuugo, Yuuto, and Yuuya grew up together being each other's everything. With Yuuri feeling a sense of being the eldest between them (Yuuri was born half an hour earlier than everyone else, who had 15 minutes interval in between) and Zarc being busy carving his name in Junior and Junior Youth duels, Yuuri ended up raising all his brothers by himself. Zarc often tried to help, of course, after all he _was_ their oldest brother. But Yuuri was so possessive of his brothers that Zarc found himself backing up more than he intended to be.

Mom and Dad encouraged his dueling career, but they too asked him to be a role model his brothers could look up to. It was when Yuuto and Yuuya took up dueling in tender age of 5 that Zarc finally had a chance to come into their lives.

With Yuuto and Yuuya being interested in something new, Yuuri wasted no time to be involved with his brothers' endeavor and because everyone in the house dueled, Yuugo just picked it up somewhere along the way. They were actually quite good, really, and he admitted that Yuuri was probably one of the best strategist he had ever seen. Zarc taught them everything he knew and he felt so immensely rewarded when little Yuuya, smiling and beaming, ran up to him and squeal 'Zarc-nii! Zarc-nii!' after he had just won his first Junior Youth Championship.

And yet still, he would have to feel the loneliness of being a stranger on the days when Yuuto and Yuuya were all curled up around each other and would want nothing to do with anyone else, not even their parents. Or the days when Yuuri and Yuugo just... disappeared for a few hours. There were also the days when the four of them would hole up in Yuuya's room and not go out at all, inviting no one and wanting no one to interrupt their world…

It was in this moment of crippling loneliness that Zarc met Akaba Rei.

Like him, she was competing for the Junior Youth title. With a nervous smile and careful glance, she had sit next to Zarc and offered him a shy hello. Zarc welcomed her with an equally shy smile and they decided to be friends with one another.

Akaba Rei was like him in so many ways. She was the eldest child of her family, which seemed to be so much more complicated than Zarc's own. And she also fancied another name other than her own. "Akaba Rei seemed so uncool, so my DuelTube channel is named Ray-A instead!" Zarc had understood her so immensely and they bonded even deeper.

Zarc remembered the day he _knew_ that Ray understood him better than everyone else in the world. It was one day of autumn, when rain would often fall in Maiami and Yuuya and Yuugo had fallen sick. Everyone in the house was worried, of course, because Yuuya and Yuugo was the more energetic of the quadruplet. Mom and Dad had some business to take care of and had asked Zarc to take care of his younger brothers, but Yuuya and Yuugo didn't want him.

Now, he knew that they meant no harm. They didn't do it on purpose. But every time Zarc tried to change Yuuya's compress he would moan for Yuuri or Yuuto instead. And Yuugo had blatantly refused to eat when Zarc tried to feed him, saying that he wasn't hungry at all, but he rose to eat his porridge the moment Yuuto had his spoon out while Yuuri changed his compress.

"You should go somewhere, brother," Yuuri had said as he cooked some herb concoction for Yuuya's porridge. "Yes, Zarc-niisan, you should hang out with your friends while we take care of this." Yuuto had smiled as he opened a pack of Yuugo's favorite orange juice. They both bid him goodbye as they entered Yuuya's (and Yuugo's too while he was sick) room. Zarc had felt so useless and lonely that he went over to one of the real solid vision lounge room in duel stadium.

He materialized his dragons, patting down their beautiful grey scales as he fought over the loneliness in his heart. He loved his brothers, really, but sometimes he wished that they weren't born as another unit that would inevitably exclude him…

It was a sudden added pressure on his stomach that jolt him awake from his daydreams, Ray had materialized one of her Fairy monsters nearby and it was singing a sad song. She curled up around herself as she settled her head on Zarc's stomach.

"Lonely day, huh?" She whispered solemnly as her fairy's song went more somber by the second. Zarc couldn't help himself, he told everything to Ray.

He told her how much it hurt to see his brothers not needing him. He told her how lonely he felt when he saw Yuuya and Yuuto and Yuugo and Yuuri fit each other like a glove. He told her how he envied the fact that they would always have each other and how he always felt so alone even when his family was sitting together. Mom and Dad had one another, and his brothers had one another, but Zarc? Zarc had no one…

By this point, Ray had her head on top of Zarc's arm, she stared at him with a look that screamed so much empathy that Zarc had to ask if she had a similar experience.

"I have five siblings, you know?" She recalled with a resigned and defeated smile. "Serena and Rin are twins, and so are Ruri and Yuzu. I understood what you mean when you said that it felt lonely to see your siblings fit each other like a glove…"

"But, how about your other sibling?"

"Reiji couldn't bring himself to look me in the eye, much less acknowledging that I'm in the same room as him. It hurts to have a sibling who pretend that I'm not there." Ray's smile was so painful that Zarc curled himself around her, hugging her until their chests touch and her forehead was secure between his shoulder blades. It didn't take long for Ray to burst into tears in his arms and Zarc followed her suit.

But now, as they lay together underneath the same tree and curled around the same dragons with silver bands circling their ring fingers, Zarc thought that _now_ he had someone to fit him like a glove. Maybe in a family dinner, he would finally feel like he wasn't an outcast who was alone amidst the crowd. Mom and Dad had one another, his brothers had one another, and Zarc would have Ray and everything was going to be _great_.

* * *

Dinners in Sakaki household were always a family affair.

Everyone had to be present or accounted for, no matter how old they were. Even Dad was not exempt from this rule and he was a working man, just like Zarc was. Mom had a certain stubbornness that made every men in the house just relent to her will and no one wanted to put up a fight.

So the night after he had proposed to Ray, the entire family celebrated with him. Yuuya already knew, Zarc told him when he picked his youngest brother up from school. And if Yuuya knew, it was guaranteed that Yuuri, Yuuto, and Yuugo would know too. His parents had known from Hiiragi Shunko, Ray's mother and Dad's longtime friend since from his dueltainer troupe, so Zarc wasn't subjected to making announcements over dinner.

Yuuya and Yuuto had been the most excited about the engagement. Zarc remembered that they were friends with Ray's sisters, Ruri and Yuzu. They congratulated him and pestered him with questions and it was endearing, so very endearing, while Yuuri chided them about having manners on the dinner table. Yuugo didn't seem to be too interested, though the turbo duelist congratulated him as well.

Mom and Dad were smiling, clearly happy that their precious little Haoryuu finally went and find himself a wife to settle with. But most of all, after his brothers had gone to bed, his parents gave him a long hug and whisper:

"We're so happy that you're not alone anymore."

And Zarc felt so _so_ blessed to be born as a Sakaki. He squeezed his parents in a hug and didn't let go for a long time.


End file.
